A federal judge on Saturday ruled that President Trump’s firing of the head of an office designed to protect government whistleblowers was unlawful.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in favor of Hampton Dellinger, director of the Office of Special Counsel, who said he was fired from his post in a one-sentence email. An appointee of former President Biden, he argued that the firing violated his appointment to a five-year term in the office.

A temporary restraining order was scheduled to expire Wednesday but Jackson extended it to Saturday as she weighed the further relief.

“There is no dispute that the statute establishing the Office of Special Counsel provides that the Special Counsel may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, and that the curt email from the White House informing the Special Counsel that he was terminated contained no reasons whatsoever,” Jackson wrote.

The Office of Special Counsel, which is different from Justice Department special counsels like Jack Smith, enables whistleblowers to report potential government wrongdoing and works to protect them from retaliation. It also responds to potential violations of the Hatch Act, the law that guards against electioneering by federal employees.

Joshua Matz, a lawyer for Dellinger, argued Wednesday that the Office of Special Counsel is not a “pure extension” of the executive branch. It plays a “significant role” in reporting to Congress, existing...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMivgFBVV95cUxNenllYWxsOVg2WE45YzYzREcz...